Dayton orders daycare union vote, Republicans vow challenge

Governor Mark Dayton is calling for a union vote among daycare workers. He’s issuing an executive order paving the way for the vote. State officials say the vote’s results should be tabulated before Christmas. Republican lawmakers say the order exceeds the governor’s power and plan to challenge its legality.

Governor Mark Dayton is calling for a union vote among daycare workers. He’s issuing an executive order paving the way for the vote. State officials say the vote’s results should be tabulated before Christmas. Republican lawmakers say the order exceeds the governor’s power and plan to challenge its legality.

The challenge comes after the attorney general's office laid out three options for the governor after a judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking a union election. Politics in Minnesota says none of the options would get the election back on track any time soon.

State Sen. Mike Parry of Waseca says he thinks the governor does not have the authority to sign an executive order authorizing a union vote because the state's day care workers are independent contractors.

The Ramsey County judge who blocked a unionization vote by child care workers ruled that Governor Dayton had exceeded his authority by ordering the vote without involving the Legislature. Dayton says he disagrees with the ruling but has decided against an appeal.

Some Republican state lawmakers want to hold hearings to discuss whether the governor has the authority to let day-care workers form unions. But Dayton says holding hearings before he's even decided whether to take action is just a political show.

The Republican-controlled Senate Rules Committee voted 6-1 in support of a lawsuit which suggests Gov. Mark Dayton overstepped his bounds when he ordered a union election for childcare providers in the state.

A group of child care providers opposed to an effort to unionize the business are suing. They claim Gov. Dayton overstepped his authority in signing an executive order authorizing child-care workers to vote on whether to form a union.